How To Spend Less On Children’s Halloween Contumes

Halloween is quickly approaching! But who wants to spend an arm and a leg on their child’s Halloween costume? What with the costume and all of the accessories, it’s easy to find yourself spending a lot of money for a one-day event.

Here are some ways you can spend less for your child’s Halloween costume:

– DIY/Do It Yourself – Before you look to buy a costume, see if you can create one on your own based on things you have around the house. You may have an old dress (make a bride or princess costume) or perhaps a suit (business man costume, hobo) or other clothes you can re-purpose into a costume. Second-hand stores can be a great inspiration for a costume and it can be cheap too!

– Network with Friends – Most of us have friends with kids of different ages. See if your friends have old costumes that no longer fit their kids. Odds are they will be happy to get the costume off their hands (read: free!). Our littlest will be a bumblebee in a costume a friend handed down to us.

– Re-use or Re-purpose Last Year’s Costume – Does last year’s costume still fit your child? Re-use it! If you can’t get away with using it as is, see if you can re-purpose the costume as something else. One year’s bride can be another year’s princess or even a ghost. Tip: See if you can get away with buying a larger costume so that you can use it again next year.

– Don’t Buy the Latest Fad – The most popular costumes are usually the most expensive as well as these tend to be branded as well as in demand. Besides that, today’s fad may not be popular next year. Recall the last tip – it may be harder to re-use a costume that part of last year’s fad. A more general costume can get more use (our son is playing in his pirate outfit all the time!).

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– Wait Until the Last Minute – Costumes tend to have better discounts the closer you get to Halloween. Most stores don’t want to keep the inventory so you can get a great bargain close to Halloween. Of course the selection may be a bit more limited as well so you have to keep that in mind. We’ve gotten super-cheap costumes at places like Gap Kids, Old Navy, and The Children’s Place the last minute.

– Shop at Discount Stores – A store like Target or Walmart will most likely have better prices than the specialty store that only sells costumes. They even have their own store brand which will be less expensive.

– Shop Online – Use online stores to compare prices and see where you can get a great deal. You may still want to go to a store to see what the size is like but once you know you can check online for sizes. You can find great prices on sites like Amazon and eBay and you may be able to piece together a costume looking on the outlet sections of chidren’s online stores.

– Buy Next Year’s Costumes This Year – Remember how I said costumes tend to be steeply discounted close Halloween? Well, they are really cheap right after Halloween! Scope out next year’s costume once Halloween ends. You can find great costumes for less than $10!

You don’t have to spend a fortune for your child’s costume. A little imagination can go a long way to save you money and get you a great costume for your kids to have fun in!

What other suggestions do you have for inexpensive Halloween costumes?

Glen is married and the father to four children that he spends the day chasing as a stay-at-home-dad. He took an interest in personal finance when he realized most of his paycheck was going toward credit card bills. Since then he's eliminated his credit card debt and started on a journey towards financial freedom.

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